BENDIGO BANK

One of the big­gest ob­sta­cles for many learner driv­ers get­ting their “P” Plates, is the manda­tory 120 hours of driv­ing prac­tice. The L2P Pro­gram sets out to fix this prob­lem by match­ing fully li­censed vol­un­teer men­tors to these learner driv­ers.

Un­der this pro­gram, young driv­ers have ac­cess to pro­fes­sional lessons, a safe car and the sup­port of a vol­un­teer men­tor driver while they gain vi­tal on-road ex­pe­ri­ence. Men­tors are of­fered sup­port by hav­ing ac­cess to train­ing, petrol, in­sur­ance and the use of a ve­hi­cle for tak­ing the learner on these cru­cial lessons.

The L2P Pro­gram was launched in Laver­ton last year with two cars paid for by our lo­cal Bendigo Bank Com­mu­nity Bank branches of Al­tona and Laver­ton, and the Point Cook Busi­ness Cen­tre.

As well as the cars pro­vided by the com­mu­nity bank, this pro­gram is sup­ported by both Hob­sons Bay City Coun­cil and Wyn­d­ham City Coun­cil along with VicRoads, KIA Mo­tors, Vic­to­ria Po­lice, and the Laver­ton Com­mu­nity In­te­grated Ser­vices Inc.

Ac­cord­ing to Michael Pernar, CEO of Laver­ton Com­mu­nity In­te­grated Ser­vices Inc., “The L2P Pro­gram brings to­gether the com­mu­nity, its busi­nesses and lo­cal au­thor­i­ties to as­sist young peo­ple in achiev­ing greater au­ton­omy. The agen­cies and busi­nesses that have made this pos­si­ble recog­nise that the com­mu­nity has a re­spon­si­bil­ity to en­sure all young peo­ple be­come skilled, knowl­edge­able and con­fi­dent driv­ers.” In turn, the com­mu­nity ben­e­fits from hav­ing in place a pro­gram that may as­sist in tack­ling the na­tion's road toll and the as­so­ci­ated tragedies.

By help­ing young peo­ple get their li­cense, men­tors have the op­por­tu­nity to open doors for young peo­ple to ac­cess ed­u­ca­tion and em­ploy­ment op­por­tu­ni­ties. They also as­sist young peo­ple to gain their in­de­pen­dence and reach sig­nif­i­cant mile­stones.

Henry Da Silva, Chair­per­son of the Al­tona and Laver­ton Com­mu­nity Bank®, says that “The L2P Pro­gram recog­nises that get­ting your driver's li­cence is a rite of pas­sage and ev­ery young per­son should have the op­por­tu­nity to gain the nec­es­sary skills and ex­pe­ri­ence.”

To join an L2P pro­gram, you need to be be­tween 16 and 20 years of age, hold a cur­rent learner's per­mit and not have ac­cess to ei­ther a ve­hi­cle, a su­per­vis­ing driver, or both.

To be­come a vol­un­teer men­tor in an L2P Pro­gram, you need to be over 21 years of age, hold a cur­rent full Vic­to­rian driver's li­cence and meet re­quire­ments of your lo­cal L2P pro­gram.

If you are a young per­son who meets these cri­te­ria, or you are in­ter­ested in help­ing young peo­ple, con­tact your near­est L2P pro­gram. Lo­cal res­i­dents may also con­tact the Laver­ton L2P Pro­gram Of­fi­cer on 0487 465 687 or email l2p@lcis.org.au